Relief valve



Dec "13, 1927.

H. E. BING HAM RELIEF VALVE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 6, 1925 PatentedDec. 13, 1927.

UNITED STA T'ES PATENT OFFICE.

HAnoLnEnNEsr Britannia, 0 MONTREAL, QUEBEC, oANADA, ASSIGNOB r0 HTLMSELFc CLYDE noUeLAs'rHoE UaN, BOTH 10F MONTREAL, CANADA.

RELIEF VALVE.

Application filed Au uste, 1925. Serial No. 48,597)

The invention relates particularly to relief valves for locomotiveengines.

Heretofore considerable inconvenience and relatively large cost havebeen experienced in connection with the manufacture, installation andmaintenance of relief valves for locomotive engines and in some casesthe operation has been defective.

My invention has for its object to provide which communication iseffected between the mouth of the valve chamber and an opening in'thelocomotive engine cylinder. There are a pair of these openings one neareach end of the cylinder and a pair of valves communicating with theseopenings. VVithin the valve body is a valve seat formed in one piecetherewith and engaged by a onewayvalve guided in the upper portion ofthe'body, such upper portion being intact without openings leading intothe interior or the valve bodyand having openings in its sidecommunicating with the atmosphere.

A stop limits the movement of the valve to full open position. v Thebottom of the valve chamber has formed integrally therewith a pad havingholes throughwhich studs carried by the engine cylinder protrude andpresent screw-threaded ends upon 'which nuts may be screwed for thepurpose of clamping the valve rigidly to the engine cylinder with theball-ring between them.

Within the broad idea of my invention the guide and stop for the valvemay be either a straight axial valve stem guided through the top of thevalve chamber and having a washer secured thereon by nuts screwed uponthe upper end of the stem, a packing ring countersunk in the top of thechamber serving as a cushion for the washer when the valve is opened andits stroke is limited thereby to full open position. the stopfor thevalve proper may be located within the chamber and'beneath the valve. Inthis form a series of guides spaced around the circumference of thevalve proper may be employed to guide the valve in its movevalve proper;

'ment. I In this alternative form the top of the valve chamber does nothave the valve guidmg stem protruding therethrough. Either of thesespecific forms of valve guide-and stop may be employed within the spiritof my invention. I

Foriull comprehension,however, of my invention reference must be had tothe accompanylng drawings in which similar reference characters indicatethe same parts and wherein: c

Figure 1 is a detail perspective view of partof the cylinder or alocomotive engine with a pair of my improved valves applied thereto; 7 VI I F igure'2 is a part plan and part horizontal sectional view of myimproved valve with the preferred specific construction of valve guideand stop, the section being taken along a vertical transverse planediametrical to the valve and the horizontal sec.-

.tional view being taken on line 2-2 Figure 3 for the purpose ofillustrating particularly the air openings, the "pad and the ball ringand their arrangement with relation to the opening in the cylinder ofthelocomotive I engine; 7

F gure 3 1s a vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3F1gure 2;

Figure lis a detail view of the'val ve W r t;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view of the valve chamber and illustrating thepad in elevation; Figure 6 is a vertical axial sectional viewlllustrating the alternative form of the valve guide. and stop;

' Figure' 7 beinga detail top view of the Figure 8 is aside elevationpartly in vertical axial sectional view of the ball ring" and valve stopor support; and

Figure 9 1s a plan view of theball ring and valve stop or support.

of the body is a seati receiving a packing ring j. The valve proper mhas a guiding stem preferably in the form of a rod or formed with ashoulder 0, a screw-threaded portion 10 and a square end 9 slotted as atr to receive a split cotter s. A washer t is seated on the shoulder 0and held rigidly in place by a pair of nuts u locked againstdisplacement by the cotter 5'. Communication is efiected between themouth of the valve chamber and one of the relief ports or holes 11 inthe cylinder of the locomotive engine, by aball-ring w. This ball-ringfits into the hole 0 which is flared to facilitate a universal jointaction which is obtained by the downwardly tapered external form of theball-ring. The cylinder has studs 00 screwed in holes tapped therein andprojecting upwardly to be engaged by the bolt holes in the pad 0, nuts 7clamping the valve casing and ball-ring in place. This detailconstruction of my improved relief valve is illustrated in Figures 1 to5 inclusive. An alternative form is illustrated in Figures 6, 8 and 9,the essential difference in the alternative form is that the valve stemis divided into four stem-members 72 carried around the circumference ofthe valve head. This form of guide requires a larger bore 7L1 andeliminates the necessity of the stem protruding through the top of thecasing which is entirely devoted to the openings g to the atmosphere.The external stop 25 (Figure 3) limiting the travel of the valve to itsfull open position has substituted therefor an internal stop or support5 cast integrally with the ball-ring as shown clearly in Figures 6, 8and 9. It will be'observed that this alternative form carries out thebroad idea disclosed in Figure 3. The intact top 6 effectively preventscinders and other foreign particles dropping into the valve body andresting on top of the valve when closed, and being sucked into thecylinders immediately the valve opens. The effect of the admission ofcinders and other foreign particles to the valve body and subsequentlyto the cylinders is that the valvular surface 7" will be destroyed andthe bore of the cylinders and ed e of the istons scored. In this mannerthe cinders and other foreign particles will seriously damage theseparts and reduce the efficiency of these engines to a great extent. Myintact top to the valve body overcomes these defects.

Operation.

One of these valves is located at each end of the cylinder of the engineand when the throttle is closed, shutting off steam from the engine,which drifts along the track, on a downward grade for instance, thevalves heretofore used have frequently failed to act and communicationwith the atmosphere has not been effected, thus causing the engine,

having a relief hole,

then acting as a pump, to such from the smoke box into the cylinder.Another disadvantage experienced in the past is that the valve properdid not always seat properly thus causing leakage there and fogging theengineers view. iVith my improved valve, which operates entirelyautomatically with perfect freedom of action, leakage cannot occur;neither can the valve fail to seat properly, and there is nothing to putit out of order. Furthermore the fact that there is only one joint,which is at the ball-ring and this ball-ring is of the simplestconstruction and readily made of sufiicient strength, there is noliability of joint leakage owing to the excessive vibration.

From the foregoing it will be seen that my improved relief valveconsisting in the main as it does of an integral one piece valve bodywhich is a casting, possesses extreme simplicity and may be produced" atminimum cost. Furthermore it being an integral 7 one ,piece casting, itis without joints throughout its body and thereby eliminates the repairsconstantly required with relief valves at present in use to maintain thejointed parts from leaking. The valve possesses, in consequence, maximumefliciency.

VVhat- I claim is as follows:

1. In a locomotive engine relief valve, the combination with the enginecylinder of an integral one piece valve body of intact cylindrical formhaving 'a flat top and air openings in the sides of the upper portionthereof below its top and having a port in its base; an inwardlyextending member formed in one piece with the middle of the length ofthe interior of the body, and presenting a valve seat at its inner loweredge, the interior of the body below and adjacent to the member beingchambered, a valve within the body and be ing fiat and relatively thinto be within the chambered portion when open and present minimumobstruction to the flow through the valve body; the valve having anintegral upwardly projecting guiding part, means for limiting thedownward movement, guiding means for the valve, such guiding meansincluding an integral part of the body, and means for securing the valvebody with the port in its base in communication with the relief hole.

2. In a locomotive engine relief valve, the combination with the enginecylinder having a relief hole, of an integral one piece valve body ofintact cylindrical form having an intact top, air openings in the sidesof the upper portion thereof below the top and having a port in itsbase; an inwardly extending flange formed in one piece with the middleof the length of the interior of the body. and presenting a valve seatat its inner lower edge, the interior of the body below and adjacent tothe flange being cham- IOU bered, a valve within the body and being thevalve stem, such guiding means includfiat and relatively thin to bewithin the ing an integral part of the body, and means 10 chamberedportion when open and present for securing the valve body with the portminimum obstruction to the flow through in'its base in communicationwith the relief the valve body; the valve having a straight hole.

cylindrical stem protruding through the top In testimony whereof I havesigned my of the body and carrying means for limiting name to thisspecification.

its downward movement; guiding means for HAROLD E. BINGHAM.

